The sixth generation[1] (Japanese: 第６世代sixth generation,[2] rendered as 第六世代 among fans) of Pokémon is the sixth installment of the Pokémon video game series, starting with Pokémon X and Y in 2013 and concluding with Pokémon Omega Ruby and Alpha Sapphire in 2014. This generation saw the debut of 72 new Pokémon species (for a total of 721), as well as the introduction of the Kalos region and the return of the Hoenn region. The games of the sixth generation are in full 3D and are presented on the Nintendo 3DS, a first for the core series.

Contents

History

The sixth generation of Pokémon was announced with the reveal of Pokémon X and Y on January 8, 2013. These games were released internationally in October of the same year; the tie-in anime series began airing one week later. Pokémon X and Y continued the established tradition of two paired games with slight variations between the two versions. Between them, these games introduced 72 new Pokémon species, 57 new moves, and 26 new Abilities. New gameplay advances were added, including a new battle mechanic called Mega Evolution. Among other changes, the games' type chart was modified for the first time since Generation II, some twelve years earlier: Ghost- and Dark-type moves now have normal effectiveness against Steel-types and a new Fairy type has been introduced.

The Generation VI games are not isolated from previous iterations and can communicate with the fifth-generation games Black, White, Black 2, and White 2 through an online application known as Pokémon Bank. This feature, which is available for download from the Nintendo eShop, acts primarily as online storage for Pokémon species. It was first launched in Japan on December 25, 2013, although unexpectedly high demand forced it to close and relaunch the following January. International markets received the Pokémon Bank in February 2014. An extension of the Pokémon Bank called the Poké Transporter allows players to send Pokémon from their fifth-generation games to their X and Y cartridges via the cloud. Combining the Poké Transporter with the earlier Pal Park (from Pokémon Diamond, Pearl, Platinum, HeartGold, and SoulSilver) and Poké Transfer (from Pokémon Black, White, Black 2, and White 2) allows players to transfer Pokémon from Pokémon Ruby, Sapphire, Emerald, FireRed, and LeafGreen to their sixth-generation games.

However, the overall continuity between the sixth generation games and those that precede them is not especially clear. In-game dialogue in Pokémon Omega Ruby and Alpha Sapphire suggests that the sixth generation games might take place in an alternate universe parallel to the universe in which the earlier games are contained. During the Delta Episode at Mossdeep Space Center, Zinnia hints that there might be another version of Hoenn that has not discovered Mega Evolution:

"My people know it. From generation to generation, we pass along the lore about the distortions in the world borne by the Mega Evolution mechanism. And about the existence of another world, which we have long observed to be just like this one and yet not the same... That's right. A Hoenn region that's almost exactly like this one we live in. Filled with Pokémon and people like us. A world where maybe the evolution of Pokémon took a slightly different path, where Mega Evolution is unknown... A world where that war 3,000 years ago...never happened. A world where the ultimate weapon was never even built. And in that Hoenn of that world... What would happen if one day, out of the blue, a meteoroid appeared? What would happen to the people of that world, without the technology to destroy the meteoroid or the power to warp it away? ... Looks like it's beyond the power of your imagination."

Region

Kalos

The Kalos region was introduced in Pokémon X and Y. This region is geographically isolated and has no close ties with any other region introduced prior to Generation VI.

Starter Pokémon

The starters of the sixth Generation follow the traditional Grass/Fire/Water trio setup. At the beginning of the game, the player must choose between the Grass-type Chespin, the Fire-type Fennekin and the Water-type Froakie.

Kalos thematic motif

The sixth generation focuses on the concept of beauty and different aspects related to it, such as balance and harmony. Fashion and different forms of art are featured considerably in the newly introduced region, whose name comes from the Greek word for beauty.[3] The mascots of the primary versions, Xerneas and Yveltal, reflect the concepts of harmony and balance, being the "Life" and "Destruction" Pokémon, respectively. The villainous team's actions and motives also reflect the beauty theme, as they strive to create "a beautiful world" by any means necessary.

A Fire/Water Pokémon, with all types now having been paired with Water.

A Fighting/Flying Pokémon, with all types now having been paired with Flying.

Generation VI relieved restrictions on formatting that were evident in previous generations:

The nickname character limit has been increased from 5 to 6 in Japanese and Korean, and from 10 to 12 in Western languages.

The player name character limit has been increased from 5 to 6 in Japanese and Korean, and from 7 to 12 in Western languages.

The names of all moves, items and Abilities introduced before Generation VI are no longer limited to 12 characters, including any spaces. Some of these names were re-formatted; for example, Selfdestruct was renamed Self-Destruct.

Generation VI leaves the most extra room in the PC if one captures exactly one of each species of Pokémon, with there being 930 spaces and 721 Pokémon.

Generation VI is the only completed generation not to revisit its new region after the original paired games.

Generation VI contains the core series games with the shortest English titles: X and Y have one letter each.

Generation VI is the first generation in which games were released on the same date worldwide.